Take cover for Bonfire Night

THE fireworks season is about to explode into life with mortars and giant rockets that would not look out of place on a battlefield. The days of a handful of sparklers and a catherine wheel on a fencepost are, it seems, disappearing fast.

Though Bonfire Night is becoming an elaborate and expensive affair marked by ground-shaking detonations, the biggest threat is not fire or injury, but burglary.

Insurer Norwich Union says that November 5 is the worst day of the year for household theft. Burglars know that many people are out or in their gardens during the evening and the noise of fireworks can mask the sound of forced entry.

Stray fireworks are still a problem for insurers, though. Yvonne and Clive Levett thought they had been in the wars last November 5 after being bombarded by rockets from a fireworks party near their home in Petts Wood, Kent.

Yvonne, 56, says: 'Though the display was spectacular, it was like being under siege. These were huge fireworks that made a lot of noise and there was debris all over our garden.'

Worse was to come. Yvonne and Clive, 49, who runs a car dealership, found a rocket embedded in a corner of their roof. She says: 'It broke four tiles and buried itself in the structure.'

Fixing the damage and making the roof waterproof cost £450 - a bill that was fortunately covered by the couple's home insurer, Churchill.

Stray rockets and blazing bonfires pose a growing risk for homeowners. Gideon Ingham, head of insurance at CIS, says: 'It's amazing how many people have a bonfire or fireworks party in the garden without thinking about the consequences if things go wrong.'

Kevin Sinclair, managing director of AA Home Insurance, says: 'Check what your home insurance policy says about cover for items in your garden, such as the shed or fencing. Some policies provide very little cover for outdoor property.'

AA's policy pays up to £3,000 for outdoor contents, for example, while esure will pay up to £1,000 for garden possessions and, unlike many insurers, will even cover damage to trees or shrubs. Insurers might challenge a claim if they can prove you have behaved recklessly, though this is rare.

Nikki Sellers, head of home underwriting at esure, says: 'We wouldn't look too kindly on a claim if someone threw petrol on a bonfire that then got out of control.' Injury to a party guest or member of your family is a genuine risk.

There were 1,160 injuries caused by fireworks around bonfire night last year, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, half of them at private parties.

Home insurance does not compensate for injuries suffered by you or your family. Claims from guests are covered under personal liability, but they would have to show that an accident was due to your negligence.

If, like Yvonne and Clive, you cannot identify the source of a firework that caused damage, you will have to claim on your own home insurance.